Land Use Land Cover Dynamics in Ribb Watershed and Its Implication to the Sustainability of Ribb Dam

Abstract

Land use land cover dynamics is a widespread phenomenon in many parts of Ethiopia and in Ribb watershed. The main objective of the research was assessing land use land cover dynamics and its implication to the sustainability of Ribb Dam in 1973, 1986, 2001, and 2016 by using Landsat image and household questioner. During the last 44 years, cultivated and settlement land and forest cover showed an increment from 26.29% to 54.89% and 9.45% to 12.86%, respectively. The bush land, grazing land, water body, and wetland, however, showed a relative decrement from 29.48% to 17.09%, 21.45% to 12.70%, 4.64% to 2.39%, and 8.70% to 0.08%, respectively. Population pressure, poverty, weak policy and institutional enforcement, and tenure insecurity revealed as a major cause of the change in land use land cover. Soil erosion, lack of fuel wood, and impact on livelihood are major consequences of land use land cover change.